I'rab of Surah An-Naba Ayah 19: word by word Arabic grammar
Surah An-Naba (النبأ) · Meccan · Ayah 19
وَفُتِحَتِ ٱلسَّمَآءُ فَكَانَتْ أَبْوَٰبًۭا TransliterationWa futihati s-samaa'u fa kaanat abwaaba
MeaningAnd the sky is opened and becomes gateways.
This verse describes a cosmic event of the Last Day: the sky is opened so that it becomes, as it were, doorways. The opening verb is passive, with 'the sky' as its deputy-subject, and the following clause joined by faa expresses an immediate result, with 'doorways' as the predicate of the defective verb 'became'.
Word by word i'rab
connecting particle (harf 'atf)
This waw links the verse to the preceding events of the Day, here introducing one of two parallel happenings.
indeclinablepast passive verb (fi'l madi mabni lil-majhul)
A passive past-tense verb meaning 'was opened,' built on the fath, with the taa marking a feminine deputy-subject.
indeclinabledeputy-subject (na'ib al-fa'il)
Being the deputy-subject of the passive verb, 'the sky' takes the nominative case with a visible damma.
nominativeresult/sequence particle (faa)
This faa joins the next clause and signals an immediate consequence of the sky being opened.
indeclinabledefective past verb (kana naqisa)
The verb 'became' raises a noun as its subject and puts a following noun in the accusative as its predicate; the taa is the feminine marker.
indeclinablepredicate of kana (khabar kana)
As the predicate of 'became,' 'doorways' is accusative with tanwin, picturing the sky riven into many openings.
accusativeDetailed i'rab
The verse begins with the connective waw tying it to the surrounding scenes of the Day of Judgment. 'Futihat' is a past-tense passive verb, so its doer is suppressed and 'al-samaa'' steps in as the deputy-subject, taking the nominative with a clear damma. The feminine taa on the verb agrees with this feminine noun. The faa then introduces a clause of immediate result: 'fa kaanat.' 'Kana' here is the defective verb meaning 'became,' whose subject is the implied pronoun 'it' (the sky). Its predicate is 'abwaaban,' standing in the accusative with tanwin. The image is that the sky is so thoroughly opened that it appears as nothing but gateways, the accusative predicate completing the sense of 'became.'
Frequently asked
Why is 'al-samaa'' in the nominative if no doer is mentioned?
Because 'futihat' is passive: the original doer is dropped and the thing acted upon, the sky, is promoted to deputy-subject, which always takes the nominative case.
What role does 'abwaaban' play after 'kaanat'?
It is the predicate (khabar) of the defective verb 'kana.' Such predicates are accusative, here shown by the accusative ending with tanwin.
What does the faa before 'kaanat' add?
It connects the clauses and conveys that the sky's turning into gateways follows immediately upon its being opened, expressing swift sequence.